Oil prices rose after Russia cut off supply through a Kazakh oil pipeline because of the need to repair damage caused by a hurricane, while U.S. oil inventories appeared to have fallen again last week. Voices at the Fed calling for active restrictive policy have grown louder. Inflation in the UK hit a 30-year high as the government grapples with the crisis of rising living costs. The stock market in the U.S. is set to take a breather at the open, and China has found the black box from the Boeing 737 that crashed earlier this week. Here’s what you need to know about the financial market on Wednesday, March 23.

1. Russia cut off supply through a Kazakh oil pipeline, and the sanctions debate intensified in Europe

Oil prices rose again as the debate in Europe over sanctions on Russian energy exports intensified a day before a crucial summit meeting.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told lawmakers that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in serious peace talks, sounding a decidedly hawkish tone for a country that is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. By contrast, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his opposition to an immediate embargo, citing economic costs.

Russia has tightened pressure on the global oil market by closing the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s export terminal on the Black Sea, saying the damage caused by the hurricane must be repaired. The 700,000-barrel-per-day pipeline mainly delivers oil to the global market from Kazakhstan.

The price of WTI crude rose 1.8% to $111.25 a barrel and Brent crude rose 2.1% to $117.90 a barrel ahead of the release of U.S. government data on oil inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET (15:30 GMT). The country’s crude inventories fell by a surprisingly large 4.3 million barrels last week, according to industry group API.

2. “Dovish” Daley’s dovish attitude reinforced calls for early rate hike; mortgage and new home sales data awaited

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Governor Mary Daly joined those calling for the Fed to raise interest rates above what is considered a neutral level to bring inflation down.

Daly’s comments followed similar comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Governor Chris Waller and St. Louis Fed Governor James Bullard this week, but are notable because she has taken a dovish stance on monetary tightening in recent months. Thus, her comments suggest that a clear majority may favor a 50 basis point rate hike at the next Fed meeting.

US Treasury yields have halted their steady rise for the moment; with the 10-year Treasury yield falling 2 basis points to 2.36% the previous day. Their rise will focus attention on the weekly mortgage applications and rates data released at 07:00 am ET (12:00 GMT). New U.S. home sales data for February will also be released a little later.

3- The U.S. market will take a breather at the open

The stock market in the US will open slightly lower due to profit taking after Tuesday’s strong gains.

By 06:20am ET (11:25am GMT), the Dow Jones futures were down 83 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4%. All 3 indices rose on Tuesday, “digesting” an apparent hawkish shift in Fed policy. The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.0% and is up 9% overall over the past week.

Stocks that are likely to be in the spotlight a little later are GameStop after another acquisition by CEO Ryan Cohen, as well as Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) and General Mills (NYSE:GIS) reporting earnings. BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) shares are still rising after the decision to shut down its loss-making newsroom.

4- U.K. inflation hits 30-year high as cost of living crisis worsens

UK inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February; with continued rapid growth in producer prices raising concerns that consumer inflation could peak within 8 months.

These data provide a tense backdrop for the government’s spring budget report, which is expected to contain some significant fuel tax relief along the lines of France, Italy and other countries. It is unclear whether the government will stick to its previous plans to increase National Insurance contributions to close the budget deficit, which has shrunk more sharply than expected over the past couple of months.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is also due to speak at 08:00 Eastern Time (13:00 GMT), as is Bundesbank Governor Joachim Nagel, by pure coincidence.